Why should the monarchy be excluded from the cuts?
Posted on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 5:51pm
4 responses
Often associated with royal families, but our monarchy should be prepared have their budget go under the guillotine
THE new ConDem government wants everyone in society to tell them where cuts should happen in the public sector. How nice of them to consult on an issue that they are clearly trying to pass the buck on at every juncture.
Can you imagine that if this was a time of prosperity, do you really think the government would consult on what our money should be invested in?
And so this leads me on to the issue of cuts and, if we are to be consulted, then one of the things that we should be considering is the money allocated to the monarchy via the civil list. Why should the monarchy be excluded from the cuts agenda? I would urge everyone who reads this blog to contact their MPs to urge them to sign this Early Day Motion:
CIVIL LIST REVIEW EDM 123
That this House is opposed to any increase in the Civil List while public spending is being cut and until Royal finances are subject to the same standards of accounting, auditing and reporting as all other public finances; and calls for an immediate freeze on Civil List payments and for an urgent and independent inquiry into Royal finances, with a view to reducing the overall cost of the Monarchy to well below the current estimated bill of between £100 million and £200 million a year.
This, coupled with the fact that the royal palace is looking for an extra £7 million in the annual civil list payment, is unacceptable, as the campaign group Republic clearly states here:
Republic spokesperson James Gray said:
“George Osborne must be honest with the British public. If he is considering giving the Queen a £7m pay rise while public services are being cut then we need to know.”
“Contrary to the Palace spin, Civil List spending has increased above inflation almost every year since the early nineties. The royal household is running out of cash due to its own profligacy and financial incompetence.”
Let’s see how genuine the ConDem government is about consulting on the cuts, and if they choose to ignore this matter when they make their final decision. It seems to me that the wealthy, including the royal family and the rich bankers and tax dodgers, should not be able to find loopholes, and that they should play their part in helping to cut the deficit, just like everyone else.
